Ball Python Growth

[ballpython5000]

ok i feel really ignorant and stupid asking this question. ok i have an 8 month old ball python that is 32-33 inches long. it is growing rapidly but never seems to get girth. most ball pythons i see are with 6 inches of size as my 8 month old. but they have a way larger head, thick necks, and twice my baby's girth. this is my first time getting a baby and raising it because in the past i had always bought adults. well my 8 month old is so small and it doesnt seem like he is anywhere near the size of those others within the same size range. he has a girth about the size of a half dollar and his neck is very very skinny with a tiny head. so here is my main question: do ball pythons grow rapidly and then expand to get large mass, or does the mass come as they are growing. again, this is my first venture into raising a baby so im clueless as to how that works. any opinions appreciated.

[ballpython5000]

he is also just over 1 pound

[SnowFoxx]

I have to be honest here - most pics of BPs I see online, especially at breeder's sites, are downright obese. Those snakes are power-fed to shorten time until breeding, and to increase clutch size. It's not proven that putting on all that extra weight so early increases clutches, but is sure is bad for the snake.

My nearly two-year-old Ball is about three feet long, and I'd say about 500 grams. Her little sister, a year younger, is about six inches shorter and about 100 grams smaller. They are both good eaters, and plenty healthy.

Your little guy sounds a bit thin, maybe (hard to judge without a pic) but not thin anough to be worried. If it makes you feel better, drop a day between meals - feed every six days instead of every seven. At that age, even just a little tweak will help them put on weight much faster. But really, the reason you need to worry is if he's *losing* weight. The larger BP I mentioned about was weighed at the vet's around her first birthday. She was just a little over 100 grams, and one of the healthiest BPs my experienced herp vet had ever seen. She just had her growth spurt a little later than usual. So don't worry. Slim and healthy is better than big, fat, and physically strained.

If you have any pics of your little guy, I'd love to see him. BTW, are you a MHS member?

- Victoria :w

[Pixie]

Often in bp juvenile growth they will grow more length wise in the earlier months and the start filling out more around a year and a few months old. That's been my experience with bp's anyways. My gill would grow at least 3" between sheds that were 4-5 weeks apart and most of the time she would grow 4 to 5"! Since she's hit a year and 2-3 months she grows less in length but is putting more weight on body wise and is getting thicker.

I think just like any other juvenile species, they have weird growth spurts and goofy stages :)

Pixie

[Linds]

Ballpython5000,
He does sound a bit on the thin side, but as Snowfoxx mentioned, it is difficult to judge his condition without a pic. In my experience, a nearly 3' BP is usually large enough in the girth to be feeding on small to medium sized rats. How often are you feeding him and what is he feeding on? If he has received a clean bill of health (parasite-free, etc) and is eating appropriately-sized (roughly the same size as the snakes girth) meals, I wouldn't be too worried.

Snowfoxx,
Ball Pythons are naturally very stocky. I wouldn't say that most breeders balls are overwight, in fact often they are underweight due to breeding. True many are powerfed to get to size early (which I strongly disagree with), however this doesn't cause them to become obese as young snakes, just gets them to size faster. Mature snakes may become obese, but this is unlikely with actively breeding animals. It takes a while to recover weight from breeding, and breeding year after year can take a lot out of animals. Breeding females require a lot of extra fat reserves, they turn all of it in to eggs, and typically refuse meals for the gestation period. Even the chunkiest females are left with nothing after they lay.

[SnowFoxx]

I should have been more specific - I meant the younger Balls that are often show off on that other forum. I've seen one too many 800 gram six-month-old over there.

- Victoria :w

[ballpython5000]

ok i now have pics for you all to tell me if he is too scrawny. he was weighed when he was about 28 inches now he is 33 so i dunno if that has anything to do with it.
http://www.leo-land.net/albums/Male-Ball/maleheadraise.jpg
http://www.leo-land.net/albums/Male-Ball/malehand.jpg


is he too small or just right for 8 months?

[SnowFoxx]

Yeah, he's a little slim - but not dangerously scrawny. Are you sure you're giving him big enough prey? I didn't for a while, because when they have that triangular shape they look smaller than they are, if you know what I mean. I wouldn't worry too much, just fatten up the prey a bit and feed just a little more often. He's very pretty, btw, nice bit of reduced pattern on the body, and nice blush.:)

- Victoria :w

[ballpython5000]

he eats mice every week as many as he wants. my little boy is so small. i dunno if maybe he is a runt. i know what you mean by triangle cause their spine really sticks out. ill feeding him a lot more now to get him thicker.

[Tim_Cranwill]

Snowfoxx, one of my 9 month old bp's is 1000 grams. She's not over fed by any means. I can send you a copy of her feeding records. She gets one appropriately sized food item (rat) once a week. :)

[SnowFoxx]

BP5000 - why don't you try switching him over to rats instead of mice? That seems to make a big difference in growth for BPs. Try pups first, and if he seems to be taking them fine, switch up to hoppers. I guarantee you will see a difference in weight. I doubt he's a runt, probably just growing at a slower rate than other Balls, which is fine if that's how he's meant to grow, but I think upping the feedings and switching to rats could be a good thing for him.

Cranwill - I believe you. Some snakes just grow faster than others. My problem isn't with snakes who just naturally grow at that rate, it's with breeders who are more interested in having lots of eggs fast than in keeping their herps as healthy as possible. For your snake that weight is good...for others, it isn't. Personally, I can hardly wait until my girls reach that size, that will be very cool...but I will wait, because my two girls just aren't meant to grow that fast.:)

- Victoria :w